Siem Pilot sails

 The offshore support vessel Siem Pilot sailed this evening for the Cabot Strait. As reported previously in my companion blog Tugfax August 16 there is no traditional work for suppliers off Nova Scotia since there is no oil or gas activity.  

Siem Pilot conducted trials in Bedford Basin after the ROV equipment was installed.

However several of the vessels are equipped to support ROVs and submersibles and there is work for them involving submarine cables. Siem Pilot has been fitted out with a small gantry on the port side to deploy a ROV. The gantry is painted in the distinctive colours of Dominion Diving.

It is reported to me that Siem Pilot will be surveying the submarine power cable that runs from the island of Newfoundland to Nova Scotia. The cable was installed to deliver power from the Muskrat Falls hydro electric development on the lower Churchill River in Labrador.

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The Dickens you say............

Yes it was a busy day in Halifax harbour - here is a roundup:

First off the arrival of Charles Dickens for the G6 Alliance PAX service - the latest in a series of one-off ships, on short term charters to fill in for ships on refit or those that have been replaced on the route.

Charles Dickens is the former Maersk Danbury, just off a long term charter late last year, the ship still carries Maersk's colours, but has had the banner name and funnel mark painted over. Registered in Liberia, and owned by Norddeutsche Reederei Schuldt of Germany, the ship was built in 2005 by Hanjin Heavy Industry and Construction of Busan, South Korea. With tonnages of 54,271 gross, 67,601 dwt, it has a capacity of 4944 TEU.

Frio Kyknos was back in Halifax again, this time for bunkers. The ship was here April 1 to 3 for Asian Gypsy Moth inspection. Since then I assume it unloaded a cargo of fish in Newfoundland.

This time the ship is in light condition, and despite sloppy seas outside, the pilot likely had an easier time disembarking. When it arrived April 1, the pilot boat had to lead the ship in. Due to its low freeboard, its decks were awash and the pilot could not board at the pilot station.
The ship gave its destination as Iceland. Since there is still a great deal of ice off the east coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, the ship will be taking a southerly route to meet up with the Gulf stream, but even so coming to Halifax for bunkers took the ship at least a day or two's sailing off its course.

The ferry Halifax III was back in service after a short disruption yesterday due to a minor breakdown.

Fleetmate Woodside I is already out of service for regular maintenance, and Sunday service was replaced by buses the last two weekends due to repairs in the Dartmouth ferry terminal.

Siem Pilot is gearing up for work offshore. As previously reported, the ship is serve as an accommodation vessels for diving off Sable Island. It has now been fitted with equipment from Dominion Diving, and  yesterday took fuel at Imperial Oil. Last night it did calibration work off the Mobil dock (where the water is too shallow for it to tie up).

This evening the ship moved out into Bedford Basin for further trials. Its original coasting license was from March 24 to April 25, on a charter to Secunda LLP..

The Maritime Coastal Defense vessels HMCS Glace Bay and Kingston returned to Halifax after exercises in southern waters. Kingston had a minor fire on Saturday off the Carolinas, but it was extinguished by the crew without injury. It does not seem to have effected the ship's ability  sail home unaided.

First in was Glace Bay looking quite smart with a stiff gale of wind chasing it along in bright sunshine.

An hour later when Kingston came up, the wind had brought in the fog and the start of light drizzle. The air temperature was about 14 degrees C, but the water temperature was still at 2 degrees C - a perfect recipe for fog. The ship showed no outward signs of any fire.

So with all this activity - what did I miss?

The US flag autocarrier Courage arrived from Baltimore and sailed for Antwerp - going in the opposite direction for most car boats.Built as Aida in 2005 by Hitachi Shipbuilding in Maizuru, Japan, the ship has flown the US flag since 2005. It operates for American Roll-On Roll-Off and is managed by Crowley Technical Management Inc.

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Siem Pilot - big supplier on coasting license

The big Norwegian supplier Siem Pilot glided in this morning to take up a coasting license for work in Canadian waters.

The 5,086 grt ship was built by Eidsvik Skipsbyggeri of Uskedal, Norway in 2010 and is owned by Meling of Stavanger.

In February Halifax based Secunda LP was granted a temporary coasting license to use the ship  to accommodate a dive team for repairs a hydraulic control system on the subsea isolation valve in the Sable Island gas field. The license covers the period March 24 to April 25, and was granted because no suitable Canadian ship was available.

Using its thrusters, the ship turned smartly in its own length off the pier and backed in alongside pier 27.

After taking on stores and loading gear, the ship will depart for Sable Island.

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